Did I deny Jesus?

[SebMurphy]

Hi
I have scrupulosity. Someone I get on with at school saw a cross round my neck (I got it for my Confirmation) and jokingly asked if I was Catholic. I sarcastically and for a joke replied, No… I’m Buddhist. I feel ashamed because I didn’t deliberately profess my faith. In the Bible, Jesus says anyone who denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven. Have I done this? Can it be forgiven? Please help

 

[mmm1]

Hi
I have scrupulosity. Someone I get on with at school saw a cross round my neck (I got it for my Confirmation) and jokingly asked if I was Catholic. I sarcastically and for a joke replied, No… I’m Buddhist. I feel ashamed because I didn’t deliberately profess my faith. In the Bible, Jesus says anyone who denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven. Have I done this? Can it be forgiven? Please help

Hi, SebMurphy! I will defer to the real experts who will answer you, but my guess is, no, you did not officially deny Jesus. You came across a situation you weren’t prepared for & acted without thinking. It sounds like you tried to make a joke & it didn’t work.

Next time, you’ll be ready & do a better job! For now, just praying to Jesus that you’re sorry you might have offended Him a little is plenty. I have a habit of being sarcastic, & I’m working on breaking it, because it can make the other person feel a little stupid. I wish someone had told me that when I was your age!

 

[Mighty_Q]

Hi
I have scrupulosity. Someone I get on with at school saw a cross round my neck (I got it for my Confirmation) and jokingly asked if I was Catholic. I sarcastically and for a joke replied, No… I’m Buddhist. I feel ashamed because I didn’t deliberately profess my faith. In the Bible, Jesus says anyone who denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven. Have I done this? Can it be forgiven? Please help

I don’t really consider a glib comment to constitute denying Christ.

 

[JimO]

Seb,

I don’t think you sinned, but a priest would have to have the official say on that. I encourage you to talk to a trusted priest about this. I know someone very well with scrupulosity that is a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He asks these types of questions all the time and, until he got some help, it made him miserable. In fact, the constant seeking of reassurance that he didn’t commit a sin or that a sin wasn’t mortal was one of his compulsions to combat the obsessive fear of committing sin. That’s what OCD is, compulsions (such as seeking reassurance, washing hands too much, using too much toilet tissue, counting things a lot, checking and rechecking things - like whether the stove is off) to combat obsessive thoughts (generally rooted in fear) related to sin, sexual subjects, violence, suicide, etc. For the OCD sufferer, crazy “obsessive” thoughts that we all have roll around in their head until they complete some kind of ritual or “compulsion” to make the thoughts go away. The problem is that these compulsive tricks don’t work and only make it worse. There are very effective therapies to help the person break this cycle and overcome the OCD.

Please forgive me if I am being presumptuous. I’m not a professional in the field . If you suffer from spiritual scrupulosity, seek out a priest familiar with helping persons with that condition. If you think it is a symptom of OCD, there are treatments that can do wonders for people. Scrupulosity, whether part of OCD or not, is the cause of great suffering and a terrible cross to bear. It’s not the person’s fault either. It’s just another area of suffering for us fallen humans. You can find resources for both scrupulosity and OCD on the internet.

 

[Pete_1]

Hi
I have scrupulosity. Someone I get on with at school saw a cross round my neck (I got it for my Confirmation) and jokingly asked if I was Catholic. I sarcastically and for a joke replied, No… I’m Buddhist. I feel ashamed because I didn’t deliberately profess my faith. In the Bible, Jesus says anyone who denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven. Have I done this?

All sins can be forgiven, but for mortal sins you must go to confession to recieve forgiveness unless in danger of death (then you can attempt perfect contrition)

There are 3 requirements for Mortal sin,

three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."131
1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm#1866

Can it be forgiven? Please help

All sins can be forgiven in confession, it is an infallible dogma of the faith, defined by the council of Trent.

  Quote:
                                               CANON I.--If any one saith, that in the Catholic Church Penance is not truly and properly a sacrament, instituted by Christ our Lord for reconciling the faithful unto God, as often as they fall into sin after baptism; let him be anathema.

history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/trentall.html

peace,

 

[Eilish_Maura]

Are you getting help yet for this problem?

 

[I_A]

Sometimes humour is the best evangelization. I’m assuming he knew you were joking. By joking and putting a smile on you may have done more to bring a smile, a light, to that person than any tract or radio program could have.

 

[chris_molter]

No. You didn’t deny Christ, you made a joke. God knows what was in your heart and mind when you said that.